Category Archives: Places

Washington, DC by Night

Washington, D.C. is an interesting place to photograph, but it goes without saying that it’s completely different from the photography environment we had gotten accustomed to in India. A couple of weeks ago we became aware that there was going … Continue reading

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Final Chennai Photowalk

I’ve been out of India for over three weeks now, but wanted to finish sharing our experiences of our last few weeks in India before closing out that wonderful chapter in our lives, as documented in the TAZM Pictures blog. We … Continue reading

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The Chennai Photowalk

One of the best things about Chennai, for us, was the “photowalks.”  A photowalk is basically just walking around with a camera and seeing what you can photograph.  Often these walks are in groups.  I discovered photowalks in Chennai, though … Continue reading

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Langkawi: the Jewel of Kedah

As our departure from India loomed closer, thoughts turned to all of the wonderful places in India we hadn’t yet managed to visit. India is so vast and diverse. We thought two years would be plenty of time to see all … Continue reading

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Birdwatching from the Hotel Pool

One of the highlights from our recent trip to Jaipur was the beautiful hotel pool.  On our last day there, fed up with the heat, waiting for an evening flight, we arranged for a late checkout and decided to spend … Continue reading

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Jaipur, India: Street Photography Goldmine

I have done a few posts already about our trip to Jaipur, India.  It was only a 4-day trip, but as I have been looking through our photos, it’s surprising the number and quality of interesting shots we were able … Continue reading

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MORE Monkeying Around in Jaipur

Our recent trip to Jaipur, in Rajasthan, India’s largest state, was short but we brought back a lot of photos.  I posted awhile back about our encounter with monkeys our first day there; it turns out this would not be … Continue reading

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Monkeying Around in Jaipur

With only a month or so before we leave India, we finally made it to Rajasthan, the country’s largest state, located on the northwestern border with Pakistan, and home to the inhospitable Thar Desert.  Literally translated as the “land of … Continue reading

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Life Goes on in Kathmandu (part 2)

Last week, I shared some of my photos and experiences from my two-week trip to Kathmandu, which was mostly just hard work post-earthquake, but I did get one day off toward the end of my time there and spent it … Continue reading

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Life Goes On in Kathmandu (part 1)

I wish my visit to Nepal had been under different circumstances. I arrived late on April 27 – after hours on the tarmac in New Delhi, waiting for a parking berth to be on the forecast so the plane could … Continue reading

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Having a Whale of a Time in Sri Lanka

We recently took our first trip to Sri Lanka.  Growing up on the opposite side of the globe, the only thing you would hear about Sri Lanka was the ongoing civil war, which dragged on for more than a quarter … Continue reading

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Hark!! The Breadman Cometh

Every afternoon until well into the evening, at approximately half-hour intervals, you can hear an odd whistling sound loop in the village where we are staying, just outside of Weligama, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka. At first I … Continue reading

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The Ashram: Following in the Beatles’ Footsteps

One of the places we were eager to see on our recent trip to Rishikesh, in northern India, was the so-called “Beatles Ashram.”  The former ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, on the left bank of the Ganges overlooking Rishikesh, … Continue reading

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Strolling (and Rafting) through Rishikesh

Not too long ago, we had a chance to visit Rishikesh, in northern India and the Himalayan foothills, known as a top yoga and adventure travel destination.  You may have also heard about Rishikesh as the site of the ashram … Continue reading

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Petri 7S Test

Half a year ago, my mother-in-law asked me if I could use an old Petri 7S and a Minolta SRT101 they had laying around and after some quick research online I responded “most definitely!”  The Minolta will be the subject … Continue reading

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When 2000 Giant Ganesha Idols are Immersed in the Sea

My Indian friends who grew up nearby tell me it wasn’t always like this.  They say when they were growing up, during the festival Ganesh Chaturthi, they would have a small clay statue of Lord Ganesha, one of Hinduism’s most … Continue reading

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Hiking in a Himalayan Hailstorm

We went on a trek this morning – quite short and easy by trekkers’ standards, but pretty long for old(er) folks staying at a resort in the Himalayas where there’s a golf cart and driver if you don’t feel up … Continue reading

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Tirukalukundram

Eighteen kilometers west of the Tamil Nadu tourist town of Mahabalipuram is a town of about 24,000 called Tirukaludundram which is known for its hilltop temple, the Vedagiriswarar temple.  The temple consists of an upper part up on a hill, which can … Continue reading

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Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

This is one more / the last post from our recent trip to Australia.  Over a two-week period, we were fortunate to be able to pass through (though without actually seeing much of it) Sydney, and this was followed by … Continue reading

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Pongal in Chennai / Camera Test

Often I blog about old cameras I’m testing out, often I blog about things we see and experience in India.  This post has a little of both! The Ansco Agfa Karomat 36 (known by variants of that name) is an … Continue reading

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Katherine: Hiking the Gorge

When planning our recent trip to Australia, we wanted to include a few days exploring the country’s amazing “outback.”  Confronted with endless options, we decided on the Northern Territory, but rather than the usual Uluru/Alice Springs outing, we opted for … Continue reading

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Chennai’s Republic Day Parade

Today was a pretty special day in India – even President Obama agreed, as he spent the better part of the day with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, having been invited as Chief Guest for the annual Republic Day Parade. President … Continue reading

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Views of the Great Barrier Reef

We recently had the pleasure of enjoying one of the “seven wonders of the natural world,” the Great Barrier Reef.  Launching from Port Douglas on Australia’s northeast coast, we took an all-day boat trip about 70km out to see and … Continue reading

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Cairns, Australia: “The Problem with Flying Foxes”

We were walking through downtown Cairns, a coastal tourist-y town and Barrier Reef jumping-off point in northeastern Australia, when we heard this odd “shrieking” sound.  We realized it was coming from a group of large trees with metal barriers around … Continue reading

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Chennai by Night: Bhogi

I have some interesting photos and videos to share since I last posted in mid-December – but first, some information on the current happenings in Chennai! It’s Thai Pongal, the four-day harvest festival and one of the most important holidays … Continue reading

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